AP's Top Photos of 2012

Russian Election

In this March 4, 2012 file photo, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who claimed victory in Russia's presidential election, has tears in his eyes as he emotionally reacts at a massive rally of his supporters at Manezh square outside Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

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Superstorm SandyWaves pound a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Erie Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, near Cleveland. High winds spinning off the edge of superstorm Sandy took a vicious swipe at northeast Ohio early Tuesday, uprooting trees, cutting power to hundreds of thousands, closing schools and flooding parts of major commuter arteries that run along Lake Erie. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Superstorm SandyIn this Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, a parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded as a result of superstorm Sandy in Hoboken, NJ. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)

Niagara Falls Ti...Nik Wallenda walks across Niagara Falls on a tightrope as seen from Niagara Falls, N.Y., Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda has finished his attempt to become the first person to walk on a tightrope 1,800 feet across the mist-fogged brink of roaring Niagara Falls. The seventh-generation member of the famed Flying Wallendas had long dreamed of pulling off the stunt, never before attempted. (AP Photo/James P. McCoy)

Kennedy Center H...In this Dec. 1, 2012 file photo, Actress Meryl Streep uses her iPhone to get a photo of her and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton following the State Department Dinner for the Kennedy Center Honors gala at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

Felix Baumgartne...In this Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012 image provided by Red Bull Stratos, pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria jumps out of his capsule during the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos. Some 52 million watched YouTube's live stream of daredevil Baumgartner's free-fall jump from space, a viewership that far outpaced the 7.6 million who watched it on the Discovery Channel in the U.S. (AP Photo/Red Bull Stratos, file)

Putin's CranesIn this Sept. 5, 2012 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin waits in a motorized hang glider next to a Siberian white crane, on the Yamal Peninsula, in Russia. Putin took part in a flight as part of a program devised by environmentalists to lead the endangered cranes, which were raised in captivity, on their migration to Asia. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service, File)

Jet Crashes into...The burning fuselage of an F/A-18 Hornet lies smoldering after crashing into a residential building in Virginia Beach, Va., Friday, April 6, 2012. The Navy did not immediately return telephone messages left by The Associated Press, but media reports indicate the two aviators were able to eject from the jet before it crashed. They were being treated for injuries that were not considered life threatening. (AP Photo/Zack Zapatero)

Tranquilized Bea...In this April 26, 2012 file photo provided by the CU Independent, shows a bear that wandered into the University of Colorado Boulder, Colo., dorm complex Williams Village falling from a tree after being tranquilized by Colorado wildlife officials. Colorado University police spokesman Ryan Huff said the bear was likely 1-3 years old and weighed somewhere between 150-200 pounds. (AP Photo/CU Independent, Andy Duann, File)

Slippery Squirre...In this Aug. 5, 2012 file photo, and publicly provided by the police department in Hanover, Germany, a squirrel is trapped in a manhole cover in Isenhagen, northern Germany. After they were called by neighbors, police managed to free the animal by using olive oil. (AP Photo/Police Hanover, File)

Mahatma GandhiIn this Jan. 29, 2012 file photo, underprivileged Indian children dressed in costume to look like the late Mahatma Gandhi arrive on a bus before attempting a world record in Kolkata, India. Local non-government organizations put on the event and a total of 485 children took part in the rally ahead of the anniversary of Gandhi's death which falls on January 30th. (AP Photo/Bikas Das, File)

Petraeus ResignsThis July 13, 2011 file photo, made available on the International Security Assistance Force's Flickr website shows the former Commander of International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Gen. Davis Petraeus, left, shaking hands with Paula Broadwell, co-author of "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus." Petraeus resigned as CIA director over his extramarital affair with his biographer, Broadwell. (AP Photo/ISAF, File)

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Colorado Shootin...In this July 23, 2012 file photo, James E. Holmes appears in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo. Holmes was being held on suspicion of first-degree murder, and facing additional counts of aggravated assault and weapons violations stemming from a mass shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., that killed 12 and injured dozens of others. (AP Photo/Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool, File)

South Korea Arme...In this Sept. 26, 2012 file photo, South Korean special army soldiers demonstrate their martial arts skills during the 64th anniversary of Armed Forces Day at the Gyeryong military headquarters in Gyeryong, south of Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

Italy: Cruise Ag...In this Jan. 14, 2012 file photo released by the Guardia di Finanza (border Police), the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy. The luxury cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, sending water pouring in through a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in the hull and forcing the evacuation of some 4,200 people from the listing vessel early. . (AP Photo/Guardia di Finanza, File)

Russian ElectionIn this March 4, 2012 file photo, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who claimed victory in Russia's presidential election, has tears in his eyes as he emotionally reacts at a massive rally of his supporters at Manezh square outside Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

Superstorm SandyIn this Oct. 29, 2012 file photo, storm surge hits a small tree as winds from Hurricane Sandy reached Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. Water from Long Island Sound spilled into roadways and towns along the Connecticut shoreline, the first signs of flooding from a storm that delivered a devastating surge of seawater. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

NYC Goes DarkIn this Nov. 1, 2012 file photo, much of lower Manhattan remains dark, as viewed from the darkened Manhattan side of the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. In the wake of superstorm Sandy, power outages plagued much of the New York area. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

War in SyriaIn this Oct. 29, 2012 file photo, a rebel sniper aims at a Syrian army position, seen with another rebel fighter reflected in a mirror, in a residential building in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

Superstorm SandyIn this Nov. 29, 2012 file photo, a roller coaster that once stood on the Funtown Pier at Seaside Heights is seen dunked in the ocean after the pier was hit by superstorm Sandy in Seaside Heights, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

War in SyriaIn this March 8, 2012 file photo, Ahmed, center, mourns his father Abdulaziz Abu Ahmed Khrer, who was killed by a Syrian Army sniper, during his funeral in Idlib, north Syria. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)

Obama and the Su...In this Oct. 31, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon his arrival at Atlantic City International Airport in Atlantic City, NJ. Obama traveled to the region to take an aerial tour of the Atlantic Coast in New Jersey in areas damaged by superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Superstorm Sandy- In this Oct. 29, 2012 file photo, sea water floods the Ground Zero construction site in New York. Superstorm Sandy forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo, File)

War in SyriaIn this Oct. 3, 2012 file photo, a Syrian man cries while holding the body of his son killed by the Syrian Army near Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo, File)

Western Wildfire...In this June 26, 2012 file photo, fire from the Waldo Canyon wildfire burns as it moved into subdivisions and destroyed homes in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Gaylon Wampler, File)

Norway MassacreIn this Aug. 24, 2012 file photo, mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, makes a salute after arriving in the court room at a courthouse in Oslo. Breivik, who admitted killing 77 people in Norway last year, was declared sane and sentenced to prison for bomb and gun attacks. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

White House East...In this April 9, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama does pushups during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Blago's GoodbyeIn this March 14, 2012 file photo, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reaches over a railing to shake supporters' hands at his home in Chicago. The 55-year-old Democrat was due to report to a prison in Colorado to begin serving a 14-year sentence, making him the second Illinois governor in a row to go to prison for corruption. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Aurora ShootingIn this July 20, 2012 file photo, Tom Sullivan, center, embraces family members outside Gateway High School where he had been searching frantically for his son Alex Sullivan who celebrated his 27th birthday by going to see "The Dark Knight Rises," movie where a gunman opened fire in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez, File)

Saint Anthony's ...In this Jan. 16, 2012 file photo, a man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias," a tradition that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza, File)

Kim Jong UnIn this April 24, 2012 file photo, North Korea's new commander in chief, Kim Jong Un is displayed on a giant screen during a concert on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Ng Han Gua, File)

Europe's Financi...In this March 12, 2012 file photo, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, right, puts his hands on the neck of Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos, center, as Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees De Jager, left, looks on during a meeting of eurozone finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels. As ministers chatted with each other at the meeting, the eurogroup's chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, came up behind Spanish finance minister, Luis De Guindos, and jokingly grabbed him by the neck with both hands, but the gesture soon appeared to change into a laughing friendly greeting and then deep discussion. The 17 euro countries were trying to focus on issues beyond the Greek crisis and deal with longer-term issues in their currency union, like discussing Spain's high deficits and potentially dangerous imbalances in some countries. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

France: Election...In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, an unidentified woman throws flour on French Socialist Party candidate for the 2012 presidential elections, Francois Hollande, in Paris. The woman ran to the side of the podium where Hollande stood to sign a "social contract" in favor of housing for all. (AP Photo/SZG, File

Diamond JubileeIn this June 5, 2012 file photo, revelers on the Mall in London watch Britain Queen Elizabeth II appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony as part of a four-day Diamond Jubilee celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II accession to the throne. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

Russian Punks vs...In this Aug. 17, 2012 file photo, feminist punk group Pussy Riot members, from left, Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sit in a glass cage at a court room in Moscow, Russia. The women, two of whom have young children, are charged with hooliganism connected to religious hatred. The case was widely seen as a warning that authorities will tolerate opposition only under tightly controlled conditions. T-shirt on right worn by Tolokonnikova is Spanish and translates to "They shall not pass", a slogan often used to express determination to defend a position against an enemy.(AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, File)

Space Shuttle's ...In this Oct. 12, 2012 file photo, spectators gather to watch the space shuttle Endeavour make its way down Manchester Blvd. in Los Angeles. Endeavour's 12-mile road trip kicked off as it moved from its Los Angeles International Airport hangar en route to the California Science Center, its ultimate destination. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

Sandusky JailedIn this Oct. 9, 2012 file photo, former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, center, is taken from the Centre County Courthouse by Centre County Sheriff Denny Nau, left, and a deputy, after being sentenced in Bellefonte, Pa. Sandusky was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison, effectively a life sentence, in the child sexual abuse scandal that brought shame to Penn State and led to coach Joe Paterno's downfall. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Democratic Natio...In this Sept. 5, 2012 file photo, former President Bill Clinton bows as President Barack Obama walks on stage after Clinton's address to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Biden's Back RubIn this Sept. 9, 2012 file photo, Vice President Joe Biden talks to customers at Cruisers Diner during a campaign stop in Seaman, Ohio. The unidentified woman pulled her chair up close to the bench that Biden was seated on in order to speak to him. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Obama-Brewer Tif...In this Jan. 25, 2012 file photo, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer points during an intense conversation with President Barack Obama after he arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz. Asked moments later what the conversation was about, Brewer, a Republican, said: "He was a little disturbed about my book." Brewer had recently published a book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," something of a memoir of her years growing up and defends her signing of Arizona's controversial law cracking down on illegal immigrants, which Obama opposes. Obama was objecting to Brewer's description of a meeting he and Brewer had at the White House, where she described Obama as lecturing her. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

George ZimmermanIn this April 12, 2012 file photo, George Zimmerman, right, stands with a Seminole County Deputy during a court hearing in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of the 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel, Pool, File)

Olympics Opening...In this July 27, 2012 file photo, the Olympic rings light up the stadium during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool, File)

Superstorm SandyIn this Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, damage caused by a fire in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York is shown. The fire department sent more than 190 firefighters to the blaze caused by superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)